The Kiss
1859
Francesco Hayez’s 'The Kiss' is the ultimate Romantic era power couple moment, painted in 1859 right as Italy was fighting for unification. While it looks like a simple, steamy medieval rendezvous, the man’s hat and the woman’s blue silk dress are actually secret codes for the French-Italian alliance against the Austrian Empire. A shadowy figure lurks in the background, hinting that this passionate embrace is a dangerous, fleeting goodbye before a political mission. It became so iconic that Hayez actually painted three different versions of it, and the original still hangs in Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera today.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
- Material
- Canvas
Location: Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
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